Categories: uncategorized
Date: 14 August 2005 13:28:46
I drove up to the Northern Beaches this afternoon to attend Evensong at St John's Dee Why. It took me about an hour each way, but it was well worth it.
Evensong is one of my favourite Anglican services. A brief description of Evensong can be found here and this page provides some of the text of the liturgy. Basically, it is a combination of the offices of Vespers (late afternoon) and Compline (just before bed). In high Anglican places, Evensong may be followed by Benediction, which is a service where hymns, prayers and praises are sung before the Blessed Sacrament, which is exposed upon the altar in a monstrance. The Benediction service tonight seemed to be a shorter one: some prayers and then a single hymn.
And between Evensong and Benediction, the priest read some portions from Pope Pius XII's Apostolic Constitution defining the Dogma of the Assumption. Very interesting and informative. God is being very gracious in giving me the opportunity to learn more about Mary's role each day. [Although "the Assumption" is not a dogma in Orthodoxy, I am led to believe it is believed by the most of the church.]
It was a wonderful evening though. Evensong is a wonderful service to finish the day with. And the people at the parish were very friendly, and I talked to a few of them over coffee (or port) and snacks after the service.
The hymn sung at Benediction was the Anima Christi which is a beautiful hymn from the 14th century:
Soul of my Savior sanctify my breast,
Body of Christ, be thou my saving guest,
Blood of my Savior, bathe me in thy tide,
wash me with waters gushing from thy side.Strength and protection may thy passion be,
O blessèd Jesus, hear and answer me;
deep in thy wounds, Lord, hide and shelter me,
so shall I never, never part from thee.Guard and defend me from the foe malign,
in death's dread moments make me only thine;
call me and bid me come to thee on high
where I may praise thee with thy saints for ay.